(Ecofin Agency) - Chemaf has had a 25-year lease on a copper-cobalt permit belonging to Gécamines since 2015. To develop this permit, Chemaf has put itself up for sale in 2023, as it was struggling to finance the project. However, Gécamines is yet to approve the sale.

The sale of Chemaf Resources, a copper-cobalt miner in the DRC, will not go through without the approval of Gécamine, the State mining company. Guy-Robert Lukama, Gécamines’ boss, said so, highlighting that Chemaf would lose a major permit if it went through the deal anyway.

"If they sell, we will withdraw the lease contract," said Lukama, quoted by Bloomberg on June 14. Meanwhile, Chemaf claims it obtained the agreement of the Minister of Mines for the deal and is preparing to seek Gecamines’. 

In 2015, Gecamines signed a lease agreement to cede its mining rights on a copper-cobalt permit for 25 years. The permit hosts Mutoshi, Chemaf's flagship project in the DRC. Since 2018, Chemaf has been planning to develop on the permit a complex capable of delivering 16,000 tonnes of cobalt and 50,000 tonnes of copper annually.

However, Chemaf put itself up for sale last year due to difficulties in raising funds to cover the development of the complex. The company seeks a buyer that can raise the $250-300 million needed to finalize the project. Chemaf has already taken out a $600 million loan from commodities trader Trafigura to finance the project.